Oh, I've been doing this many long years, so I understand what SM
Posted By: Becky on 2005-12-26
In Reply to: Just because you haven't had a report returned, doesn't mean - yea but
you're saying. I've been dept. supervisor, QA, all of it -- all long enough to realize that I am not infallible, for sure.
What I will say is that spending two hours reading reports aloud is not going to help me in any way, shape, or form. If I thought for a moment that it would make my work better, I'd be willing to sacrifice the time and do it.
It's really sort of like a tic, what I do when I transcribe, and I can't help it. I have tried to let stuff sit there and have the spellcheck catch it, but it's like a reflex action. I've backspaced to it before I had time to think about it. I know that I'm not really using my resources very efficiently.
I think I said in my first post that I started on typewriters and went from there to a computer with just a keyboard and monitor, and the only editing tool available to me was the backspace key. Mercy, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I transcribed that way until 1993 (? thereabouts), when I got my first spell check and word expander.
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It's been a long, long time since I've used a C-phone, sm
but I do think jobs can be paused.
I understand how long...
of an episode the flu can be. My point in my question to the poster was to make sure that was the actual diagnosis and that there wasn't something else going on. After 5 days, the child may not be "better" but may be exhibiting signs of beginning to feel better. Pneumonia and other secondary illnesses can develop easily from something like this. That was my reason behind my question.
First, you are not alone. Most of us have been there. We understand. Long message. sm
1. You will never make your husband or his family understand your job. To them you will always have a "work in your spare time" pud job. They aren't capable of understanding, so don't waste your time. Concentrate on helping yourself succeed, for your own satisfaction.
2. Not being judgemental, but it sounds like you either need to look for a new job, or streamline your work process. There are a lot of tips on increasing production from the more experienced MTs, I have learned a lot. Just ask, and you'll receive all kinds of suggestions for building speed.
3. Don't waste time on street names, unknown company names, etc. If you can't find them on one or two good websites, leave a blank or spell them the best you can, depending on the directions for your account. I have one account I blank a doctor's name, one I leave a ? after the best spelling I can get. I check three good websites for doctor's names, maybe four if the hospital is on a state line. I never waste more than 5 minutes looking for things that aren't pertinent to the account (doctor's names are, but the rest aren't).
4. If you are getting 60 minutes of work and it only works out to about 400 lines, you might want to get another account. In my experience, 60 minutes should give you between 500 and 600 lines, depending on what kind of work you're doing. If it is discharge summaries, you may never build up your speed. Sometimes clinic work is faster, you use more canned text. Op reports are good money makers if you have the experience. Use Expanders for everything. Every Expander you put in will make you money in the long run. Also, if the work isn't coming in when it is supposed to, let them know you need it by a certain time. You can't sit at the computer 12 hours a day to do an 8-hour job and maintain a life. It isn't humanly possible.
5. TAKE your days off, do something YOU enjoy occasionally, not always what your family wants. Be good to yourself. This is where burnout comes from. If your husband can afford to pay all the bills, use your money to hire a sitter for your daughter 1-2 days a month, and spend the day with friends. Hire someone to clean your house regularly. Learn to streamline everything you can. Without being selfish, you have to take care of you, no one else is going to.
I too went into medical transcription because I hated working for a company that made bombs. This is much more worthwhile. But it is very hard. You have to approach it as a profession to succeed, and you'll have to do that for yourself, because families rarely understand that sitting at home working is probably the hardest thing you'll ever do, besides raising your children. Best of luck to you.
I've been doing this a long, long time...
I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!) Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place. Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly. They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line. That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages. Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas. YES, we're complaining.
Been in this biz a long, long time, 30+ years and....sm
I love/loved MTing. However, things have changed so much during these years. The job definitely gets easier; don't have to look up much, can decipher ESLs much easier, in other words, you get pretty comfortable with things and you have confidence in yourself. The more experience you have the easier the job, but....
I actually made more money 10 years ago!! We didn't have speech recognition and you actually got paid for headers/footers, demographics, carbon copies, etc., you got paid for what you did fairly; today, I am not so sure.
You will feel burned out at times, but that passes and you find you like your job again.
Good luck to you!!
This lady is well know in the MT community and is a long term MT. I understand
your skepticism, but that is not the case with this gal. She has been straightforward from the very beginning and I have practically her entire background. I would ask that we leave skepticism out of the picture and try to help this family out.
Thank you,
Sheri 
Been doing this for 25 years and understand!! sm
Been where you are many times over the years. You need a day off here and there. Believe me - it really does wonders for your mind, soul and body! Take a day or 2 to rejuvenate yourself. It works. That is what I do and I get back to speed in no time.
The day or 2 you take off will be well made up for when you return with a new attitude and outlook!
I've been doing this doc for many years, so I've learned how to function with him. sm
I can tell what's a stutter, what's another word, what's just an "uh." Years of experience will get you through a lot.
Wouldn't want to do his charts all day, of course, but a few per day aren't bad. I haven't had to send his to review in a long time, but they do take a little longer to shuffle through.
I've worn contacts for 30 years. I've had both
hard and soft. My vision is much better with the soft ones than they were with the hard ones. When I first started trying contacts soft ones were still new and they couldn't get me to 20/20, so I went to hard. Hard were okay until my eyes started changing shape and then I could no longer wear hard ones. The soft should give you better vision as they conform more to the shape of your eye.
You've gotta understand that most newbies have
trouble getting a job with companies without felonies in their past. Hospitals are probably out, too. At the hospitals I worked at, they did extensive background checks on everybody, one even going so far as to fingerprint all new hires.
Newbies have an extremely hard time breaking into the field with national companies. I'm not sure if it's a national you tried or not, but just wanted to let you know you're in good company there.
Consider this: Though I'd not normally recommend a newbie seek out her own accounts, if all else fails, you can perhaps try to find a specialty clinic to transcribe for. Some smaller MTSOs might also be the way to go. Even if you have to check that you have had a felony, they may miss it. It's also unlikely they'll have the funds to do background checks on all of their potential employees.
Don't understand why not. I thought I've seen other posts similar to this before. I'm not t
cause any problems, but as I work for DSG, so I'm naturally curious. As I said, I liked working with them both. Is it a secret?
That is THE most dangerous thing I think I've ever heard. You don't understand it?!
No, I do not feel that way, but I understand. A few years ago, I was feeling similar, but
when I look at what I make an hour ($30-40) who is going to pay me that without a Masters? I have it pretty darn good and will see it through until retirement - about 30 years from now (hopefully if I live that long) LOL.
You just need to find a good paying company or hospital and you will feel much better. The healthcare industry is here to stay, whether it be VR or offshoring. Most hospitals are bringing MT back in house. Not all hospitals agree with offshoring out of the country. There is a big world out there - go get em. Don't be discouraged.
On the same theme, you've done so many ESLs that you can understand (& interpret for family or
friends) anyone on the news on TV or in a movie without having to look at the subtitles.
it's what you know, not how long you've been around.
I've worked with long-time MTs that didn't do very good work, had limited knowledge...and vice versa. What we ought to have is not what we're likely to be able to negotiate for either. Many factors involved, but i'd say 9 cpl for 10 yr or more...but best to get your foot in the door, where you are happy to be, and then negotiate up if possible when they see what you're made of.
we've come a long way, baby!
As the old hymm goes "I wouldn't take nothing for my journey now".... I did work on the belts too, my brother was my boss and loved to torture me about it! Talk about archaic! Now I am So spoiled! (and so thankful).
One more thing, I've been in MT and QA long enough to know that just
feel like you had no trouble with the terminology, doesn't mean you didn't have trouble.
I have come across many MTs who believe they know what they are doing and really don't.
I don't. Well I do as I go. It is from a long (25 years) habit sm
that I learned when I worked on a typewriter and then on the hospital's main frame when there was no spell check. Even after all this time, when I see an error, I hit that backspace Key and fix it.
I'm sure that may even slow me down in the long run, but it's what I do -- I can't help it, it just happens.
Not me. But I've waited for this for a long time.
Been through the daily grind for over 20 years. At one point I even had all four of my kids in different schools, having to drop them off before leaving for work. I don't miss it one bit. I still laugh when I'm lying on the couch in my pajamas reading the morning paper while all of the commuters are fighting for a place in line at Dunkin Donuts.
But with 4 kids, 3 still at home, my house has always been like Grand Central Station. I have never been able to complain about the quiet for sure. Hubby works nights so is here during the day and starting early afternoon there is an endless stream of hungry teenagers in and out as well as messy little grandkids. I don't remember the last time that I was completely alone for more than an hour. I wouldn't know what to do.
Unfortunately I don't. I've had it for a long time in the closet. nm
x
Why would you allow this to go on for five years? You should have stopped it a long time ago. nm
nm
how long does it take to find an MT job with 15+ years of experience?
Cost $275, how long (years) to break even
This is such a waste. It is about MONEY for that AAMT or whatever name they decided on now. They just won 1.5 million from Medquist and the MTs got zip. They helped devise how line counts calculated. Google AAMT + line counts + Medquist. MQ doctored the line counts on hospitals and MT on line count. They are not about the MT AT ALL. Save your money will never break even on the $275.
Best post I've read in a long time.
I tend to go back and forth with my feelings about this profession. In the mornings I am glad I do not have to get up, get ready and go to an office. Many times in the evening, after I have during the day and still have work to do, I feel like stuffing it all. Many times I am disheartened when I get my paycheck, but I am glad to be getting one, while my sister worries about getting laid off from her manufacturing job. MT has advantages and disadvantages.
Oh, my. That's the funniest thing I've read in a long time.
AHDI: Solving the world's problems, one foreign MT at a time.
ROLFMAO
Fun With "Rick" and Jane is the best/funniest movie I've seen in a long time! s/m
Okay, it's not Rick and Jane, but the censor wouldn't let me put the short form of Richard.  LOL
Oh I know, I've studied legal aspects of med recs, too, been in this a long time. sm
I totally get everything you say, and I don't argue with any of it.
But I work for a national that has had the same errors in the same normals for YEARS, so we're talking probably thousands of charts by now. I can't fix years of apathy. If I was in charge, you betcha I would.
The doctor's name is what's on the document, it still comes down to him/her.
you've been an MT for four years,
so, based on this information, that would imply that you are a grown woman. If this is true, does your handsome husband know how immature you are? Does he know that his hot wife is on this board making juvenile and childish remarks? Just curious, what makes a babe such as yourself do something like this?
gee, I've been doing this nearly 27 years
And the clients have always liked my work.
That is the only CORRECT in my book ... he who signs the paycheck.
I've been doing this for 25+ years. SM
My problem with changing accounts was not the terminology, the dictators (I do 4 big hospitals even now), but it was shuffling around to remember account specifics. That is ridiculous.
It is another case of an MTSO (not the client, the MTSO) treating the MTs as a cost center instead of a revenue center. The "money" was for the suits and the editors (no offense) and the MTs who did the work were at the end of the money line.
I've been with BTS for nearly 3 years now.
I've never run out of work, been slow at times, and asked for more. If you are a well-rounded MT the work is there. If you are limited to one or two specialities well, work is limited as would be anywhere. As for the pay, my check was been screwed up twice in 3 years. I had the difference in my hands the next day, the fedex the check to me.
Question to you? How did you treat BTS? Where you there to work if and when they needed you? Was your work 98% or better and within TAT? Most employers will treat their employees they way they are treated. It's a give and take situation people. I sign on do my work, send it to the clients and have no problems. If they need extra help somewhere I usually (but not always) say sure (who can't use the extra money anyway). When I want time off, they say no problem.
Did you ever try talking to the owners about your problem with pay or work or to your manage? You can't complain if you don't try and solve the problem first.!!
I've been using it for at least 4 years now and never
had any problems. I love it. It makes it so easy and it's a lot cheaper than paying someone to do it. You can load it on as many computeres as you want as you don't need the disk after it is loaded so me and my mom always go in half on the deluxe version so that we get state taxes included.
I've been in this biz for over 10 years
and can honestly say I've never had a background check to my knowledge. They really should let you know beforehand and I guess it is possible I've had one and not been aware but highly doubt it.
I've been using an erg for a few years.
It took a while to get used to but it did help with wrists. I have a really hard time typing on a regular keyboard now.
I've been at it for nearly 15 years
I consider myself seasoned, not because of my years of experience, but because of how many different types of work I have done. I think that being flexible, versatile, and maintaining a good attitude is what makes a seasoned transcriptinoist.
I've been doing this for years...sm
I have been saying this for years. If they would just contract it themselves.
I've been doing it for three years
I don't really have anything special I do. It's just something I'm used to. I work between 13-14 hours Monday through Thursday and take Friday nights off. I do have to have the TV on though. If it's too quiet, that's when I get tired and start to fall asleep. I don't like coffee, but I make sure to take some form of caffeine. I'll get up and walk around every few hours though.
I've been doing this for 20 years
Been in healthcare since 1972 :) Got halfway through my Masters in HealthCare Administration and stopped because I was NOT passionate about that. Got into this instead.
I am still passionate about my house and everything else I do. I'm 55. I'm not naive, or dumb. Passion comes from inside you, if you're not passionate, it's because you make yourself that way.
Thanks for the tip, but I don't have anything to get over. I don't waste a lot of time whining and complaining though. :)
It's been a few years since I've
been IC, but one of the things I did was to have my husband claim zero and at the single rate. If you're already doing that and it didn't help, you might want to have him pay in a little extra per pay or pay estimated taxes yourself. I thought with federal income tax, my employer did take it out because I was considered a statutory employee but still IC status. I think I had a little extra taken out and claimed zero and married at the single rate. A lot of things go into determining whether or not you owe taxes.
You say you adopted a child this year and will get that tax credit, did you have any children before? If not, then you likely didn't have much choice except to pay estimated quarterly taxes and have both you and your husband claim zero and the single rate. We have 3 children now, which definitely helps, but even still we continue to claim zero on our W4s just to keep ahead of the gov. We like that little "bonus" we get back for vacation, etc.
I know I always paid estimated state taxes. In some cases, you can end up paying penalties if you don't. Talk with your accountant. He/she should be able to give you ways to avoid having to pay in. You probably can't reduce what you make anymore than you already have. It sounds like you've got your deductions covered. Your only option may be to pay estimated. Good Luck!
I've been doing it for many years.
I work a few hours in the morning before kids get up, spend time with kids, do housework, fix dinner, etc. and then I work a few hours after dinner. I get up at least every 2 hours and do something, may put on a load of laundry, may lay something out to thaw for dinner, may take a power nap, etc. I couldn't sit for an 8 hour shift if my life depended on it.
It works for my and my family. My husband works 12-15 hours, a lot of them overnight and he is home by 11 most days, so my schedule works for him too.
I've actually been doing this for years!
i produce 500 lines an hour consistenly and average 3500 lines in an eight-hour day. Anyone who does not believe is jeolous, but that's JMHO.
I've been doing this for 28 years
And I get paid less now relatively seaking than 20 years ago. I've seen line rates as low as 5 and as high as 13-14 (if you're lucky).
MTs are not getting paid according to their experience, not anymore. Our pay has been so undermined by offshoring, if you find a company paying 10 cpl and up, good luck to ya. It is frustrating I know but that's the truth of the matter. I wish I could sing you a better tune.
I've done MT for 35 years, don't know how to do
to learn a new career, I'd be a 70-year-old "newbie". I don't think I'd get any job offers.
I'm with you. I've been doing this 20 years and
was a supervisor for semi-large company at one point, and I don't think it's possible to consistently do 4300+ lines of straight transcription per day...
After you've been an MT for years, have
experience with all the different foreign accents & high-speed/mumbling dictators & develop an ear for them, memorize the BOS rules, JCAHO, etc., then you'll be qualified to do what you're suggesting.
I've been in MT 15 years & have never
paid AAMT/AHDI a dime and never will because they're right in the big middle of selling us out to India. And you know what? Not having my CMT has NEVER been an issue because I know my stuff, have the experience, and test well. They need to rename themselves the Indian Association of MT.
Yes, I've used one for years
Ever since they first came out I have been using. I prefer some of the cheaper knock-off brands to the MS though. Does anyone remember the Wave keyboard? It was the precursor to the MS and also there was an actual split keyboard and one time, where the keyboard broke in half so you typed with your hands vertically instead of horizontally. I also tried learning Dvorak and that was an interesting experience!
I have an MS at work and one at home. My hands hurt less and my shoulders are not as tight. I can't stand to use a regular keyboard as I tend to hunch over and my shoulders get tight, not to mention make all kinds of errors! I don't know about using the "B" with your other hand though. Never heard of that. I just use a standard technique.
I've been doing this for 3 years
and have never made anywhere close to $31,000.
I've been saying this for years. Unfortunately,
all too often, whenever an employer pulls another fast one on us, or in the case of Acusis, pulls the rug (our paychecks) right out from under our feet, we're furious about it for a few days, and by about the 5th or 6th day, we suddenly become complacent and unwilling to stand up and fight against the status-quo.
That fight doesn't necessarily mean quitting your job (or getting fired). Fighting back can be done in your spare time. It can be done on your cellphone on the bus. It can be done next time you're in the waiting room at your doctor's office. A revealing and poignant letter can be written to a local newspaper's editorial page, an internet blog or chat room, a state governor, a congressperson, a hospital CEO, etc. The number of things we can do are limited only by our imaginations. If every MT in the country sat down and wrote a letter to Congress or their Senator (not a cookie-cutter email that gets deleted the minute it's received, but a real, hand-written or hand-typed letter that tells your personal story, of the stories of people you work with, or that you chat with on MT Stars, maybe someone with more clout and a louder voice than we have will see it, grab onto the story and run with it. When a country goes to war, it ultimately boils down to each individual fighting his own personal war. When the state of affairs in our field reaches almost-rock-bottom, which is where it's at right now, the only way for the MT species in America to survive, and not be wiped out entirely, is to network, talk to or write to as many MTs as you can, set up chat-room, or send out emails when possible, and help MTs start a movement. It takes time for a movement to build up momentum, but every little bit helps towards that goal. Even one letter is better than no letters. One person in your doctor's waiting room told what's happening to their medical records, and the quality of their care when their records are offshored, is better than no one told. We need to start making our voices heard. Not too many of us are going to last another 2 years in this business at the rate it's deteriorating.
they've been doing this for years and years (nm)
IMHO
I did it girls. I tossed my old headset in the trash and bought Bose. I've got a long
z
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